Forever Beautiful
by Sexi Silver
Summary: There's a wedding to cancel, a heart to mend, and a love to be found. Stephanie Plum never saw it coming and didn't have a chance to react. This is her aftermath.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I am not Janet Evanovich, nor do I own any of her characters.

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The red lights read 3:14 in the morning. The night was never ending, yet never had a beginning either. There was no movement from the dark figure wrapped up on the bed. She simply stared at the clock, waiting for it to change. One lone tear fell down her face, disappearing under the top cover as it was pulled up to her nose. The red lights changed to 3:15 and an audible sigh escaped into the room. Forty more seconds before the clock would change again. The figure had been laying there all day, not eating, not sleeping and unaware of her immediate surroundings. Her mind was far away, only to come crashing back to her when one more tear fell down her face when the numbers changed to 3:16. Her phone rang for the fourth time that hour alone, yet it went unnoticed on the floor, where it had dropped. There must of been countless voice mails left on the phone, but they would only fall upon deaf ear when finally listened to.

Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter extraordinaire, rolled over in bed and watched the moon light glint off her gun laying on the bedside table. It was no longer in her cookie jar for the many long nights of hearing scratching at her door, rustling at her window and the creaking of her fire escape pushed her to carry her firearm with her to bed. Of course, whenever she checked to see what was going on, there was never anything there, but she never felt safe in her own apartment anymore. Not after finding Lula on her fire escape, having skips break into her apartment, and Benito Ramirez leaving her notes on her bedroom window. With Joe Morelli, vice cop, out of the picture and Ranger left out of the knowing, she was left with a predicament: alone, scared and forever broken.

Yesterday was the day Stephanie Plum was supposed to become Mrs. Joseph Morelli. Yesterday was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Yesterday was supposed to be her new beginning. She had accepted her new role as house-wife, giving up her job as a bounty hunter the week before. Ranger had yet to be notified of her off-duty position with Vinnie, but Stephanie was sure he would understand soon enough. Ranger knew everything except for her desire to be with him. He continuously pushed her back towards Morelli, not acknowledging that she wasn't completely happy with him. Ranger told her it was for the best and she had to take him at point-blank, knowing that Ranger would never lie to her. Yesterday, she was supposed to be married and moved in with Morelli. The day did not happen the way Stephanie had envisioned it.

Two nights ago, Stephanie was surprised by a knock on her apartment door close to midnight. After looking through the peephole and recognizing the visitor, she opened the door with a soft smile on her face. After letting them into her apartment, closing and locking the door, did everything change. Stephanie found herself backed into a corner without seeing a way out, not knowing how it came to this. Her life would never be the same after that night. That night was the night that Stephanie Plum broke, never wanting to heal again.

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A/N: I have finally broke out of my cocoon of writer's block and have an idea of where to go with this story. Please press the magical green button as I will not update until there are five beautiful reviews for me. The more reviews, the faster I write, and I encourage ideas to put into the story as I love getting feedback! (This will only be posted once, as well as my disclaimer. For every consecutive chapter, there will need to be five reviews! Thanks)

*Silver


	2. Chapter 2

**Two Day Ago**

"Mary-Lou, please stop yelling into the phone. My hangover still isn't gone and I'm blaming you. But those firemen you planned last night.. Oh, if only I were still single!"

Stephanie giggled into the cellphone, knowing that her friend wouldn't completely believe her. The tequila shots from last night were pounding behind her temples, followed by the throbbing at the back of her head from all the other drinks that were pushed into her hands by the other girls. Stephanie only had Mary-Lou to blame for the tequila shots. Why she did them all was a mystery to herself, but it was a night to remember with the hired men who showed up half-way through. She did enjoy the Chippendale wanna-be's last night, but none of them matched up to Morelli. Or Ranger, now that she began thinking about the other man in her life. Well, used-to-be man in her life. Ranger still hadn't spoken to her directly in the past two months.

"Stephanie Plum! It was your bachelorette party! You're supposed to hang off the naked men and enjoy the sights while you're still able to. I could get you their numbers, if you wanted," Mary-Lou came back with. She had done all the planning for Steph's final night of freedom, saving Steph from planning a night of "mind-numbing drinking and half-naked men" as she would put it. It had been a complete success for them all, minus the massive headaches the following day.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm sure Morelli wouldn't appreciate it if I called one of them the next day. Especially because I'll be in his bed tomorrow night," Steph sighed, knowing that tonight would be a long night of nerves and cold feet before her wedding tomorrow afternoon.

There was a crash on the other end of the line and Mary-Lou cursed quietly under her breath. "I'll have to talk to you later. The little guys seem to have woken up and found something to stick their noses into, making me their mediator. Take a couple advil and finish up your packing before bed so you're ready for the move tomorrow. Sweet dreams and I'll see you tomorrow to help you look beautiful!"

Mary-Lou hung up before Stephanie could tell her goodbye. She placed her cell phone on the coffee-table and stood up to go find some more advil, following the advice of her friend. She wandering into the kitchen and winced when she heard the squeaking of Rex running on his wheel. She looked over at him and had to smile for the initiative he took to run everyday. Steph had tried the whole running phase, and after getting swarmed by geese one time too many, she gave up the habit. It wasn't much of a habit for she only went once every couple of months, but it was still a deed that she hated attempting, even if she once was able to run with Ranger.

Ranger. Such a foreign word on her tongue. She had seen him only twice in the past two months and yet she had not been able to say anything to him. She nodded her head in recognition and walked the other way, hiding her tears from having to push away the man she loved. Yes, she loved Morelli too, but their love was more of friendship and caring. Ranger's love was something completely different. It was exotic, romantic, daring, risky, independent, everything Steph wanted to be. But after much harassment from her mother, Mary-Lou and Morelli, she had finally broken down and accepted the engagement. She wasn't upset at marrying Morelli, she was upset because she wasn't marrying Ranger.

The nights that Ranger spoke Spanish to her, muttering sweet-nothings were gone. Their working relationship was also gone from giving up Vinnie's job in favour of being a housewife. Stephanie cringed at the thought of having babies. She didn't want to push something out from between her legs only to have it cry at her for the next 10 years of his, or her, life. It was not something she was looking forward too. Stephanie didn't even know what possessed her to completely give up Vinnie's, but Joe wouldn't want his Burg wife to be a bounty hunter. He wanted dinner on the table at six; he wanted the house to be tidy; he wanted his children running around, being noisy and playful; he wanted the perfect Burg family, but it wasn't something Steph could give to him easily.

The more Stephanie thought about her up-coming marriage to Joe, the worse she felt about it. Thinking about Ranger was making her feel more upset that finally tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't hold them back this time, knowing she was alone. She had kept the tears for Ranger from falling for too long and she was running out of time. She wanted to tell Ranger that she loved him. She wanted to tell Ranger that she didn't care about his no-relationship crap. She wanted to have one more night with him. Stephanie wanted Ranger.

Stephanie's cell phone rang in the living room, and she made her way over to see who was calling. Her caller id told her it was Ranger. Every fibre in her body was telling her to answer the call, to speak to him one last time as a free woman, but her brain wouldn't let her. He had not called her personally since hearing about her engagement two months ago, having the Merry Men do the deed. She couldn't possibly understand what 'No-Relationship Ranger' wanted from her on her wedding's eve and she wasn't about to hurt herself further by answering him now. The call from Ranger went to voice mail while Stephanie watched the phone's screen go dark. A minute later it beeped, letting her know that he had left her a message. She reached her hand out quickly and flipped the phone over, not wanting to see the screen with the notification from him. Once again, Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter extraordinaire, was letting Ranger walk away without a fight.

With her heart hammering painfully in her best, Stephanie sat down on the couch, eyes never leaving her phone. Her heart was aching, becoming more pronounced with each breath drawn. Her poor heart was splitting in two on the eve of her wedding night. Instead of fluttering in her chest as she prepped for the morning to come, it was breaking into two pieces. One piece was designed for Morelli, much smaller than the other half. The larger piece was forever to be kept for Ranger, should he ever fight to have her back.

Stephanie was lost in thought when she heard the doorbell ring. She grabbed her phone to check the time quickly, noting that it was 11:43pm. She wasn't expecting any company, especially not this late at night. As she slipped her phone in her pocket, her breathing caught when she though that Ranger might actually ring her doorbell to see her before she was Stephanie Morelli, but that thought was quickly pushed aside along with the tears that remained. Stephanie stood and made her way to the door, vowing to never cry another tear for Ranger and to accept her life with Morelli.

Stephanie looked through the peephole to see two figures standing in the hall, obviously drunk. She shook her head in an amused way before unlocked her door and sliding back the bolt. Her face melded into a soft smile as she pulled open the door for the two men on her doorstep. She escorted them in, closing the door after they crossed the threshold and locked the door behind them. Stephanie turned back to the men, wrapping her arm around the slightly shorter one's waist as she led them into the kitchen.

Little did she know, but tonight was her final night of living as Stephanie Plum for tomorrow came new beginnings and new nightmares.

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A/N: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! You gave me inspiration to write this next chapter and I hope it is up to your expectations. One more cliff-hanger never hurt anyone, right? Again, five more reviews for the next chapter. I will do my utmost best to update before the weekend! In your review, please let me know if you would like it to be Cupcake or Babe, it can fall either way right now.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: IMPORTANT: **Warning of sexual violence in this chapter. Not Morelli friendly, you've been warned. Rating has been changed to "M". Read at your own discretion.

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"You got anymore beer in here?" The larger of the two men asked of Stephanie. She had let the two men in and the larger man went directly to the fridge. Both men were cops of the local Trenton force and well known in her life. She had been around the smaller one ever since she was six years old and he asked her to play Choo-Choo in his father's garage.

Morelli stunk of beer and couldn't walk straight, even while leaning on the counter top. He stumbled into the corner, having left Stephanie's arm upon entry to the kitchen. He smirked at Steph before shaking his head at the larger man who was nosing around in the empty fridge.

"Big Dog, the only beer you will find in this place would of been the six-pack I brought over three days ago. And that has been finished by now. But we didn't come here for the beer," Morelli explained to Stephanie, inching his way closer to her. He looked down at Stephanie, not quite seeing her face but staring more at her chest. The look caused Stephanie to get a tingling sensation on the back of her neck, reminding her of Ranger. She shook her head quickly to push Ranger, and the tears, at bay.

Stephanie came back to her senses with a small smile on her face meant to have Joe not worry, but the looks on Big Dog's and Joe's face scared her. She knew that they were drunk, just having come back from the bachelor party, but small pangs of fear hit the pit of her abdomen, moving down her legs, rooting her in place. Thinking back, Stephanie knew that she had never seen Morelli look at her like she was a piece of meat. Looking from Morelli to Big Dog, the pangs of fear only grew as the drunk men were backing her into the living room. They were both looking at her as if she were something to have fun with, not as a human being.

"I can go down to the corner store to grab some beer, if that's what you boys want," Steph managed to get out without her voice trembling. Goodness knew that if she wasn't moving backwards, her knees would of been shaking. She kept a smile on her face to try and feel better about the situation but it didn't help what she was feeling inside. She was backing into the living room, having the front door cut off by the looming men and her bedroom out of reach for they were faster than she was.

"It's not the beer we want babe, its the body," Big Dog managed to get out without too much slurring. The word _babe_ caused pain to sear through Steph's heart. Ranger should be here to help her, to protect her, as he once promised he always would. But then, two months ago she accepted Morelli's engagement proposal. And now two months later, she was staring at her fiancé in disbelief for bringing someone else home to have his way with her. On her wedding night.

Mustering all her bounty hunter experience, Stephanie tried to push her fears away and backed up until the backs of her knees hit the coffee table. _My cellphone,_ was the first thought that popped into her head, but she didn't know how to get to it without making it obvious to the two men looming closer.

"Joe, come on, your drunk. Let me drive you boys home and tomorrow we'll be married and everything will be as it should. Please?" Morelli and Big Dog share a drunken laugh over her speech and take the final steps towards Stephanie, leaving her stuck in front of the coffee table.

"Stephanie," Morelli began, reaching out and grabbing her forearm in a strong grip, "we're two drunk men and we have needs that you can satisfy. That's all you are to me. You're simply a good fuck."

All thought stopped in Stephanie's head. All thought process dedicated to finding a way out of this situation shut down. Pain flooded every part of Stephanie's body and her heart shattered. Nothing mattered anymore; not the two men gawking at her body, not the cellphone which lay just out of reach behind her, not the one phone call that could save her a lot of pain. All that mattered was that Joseph Morelli, her Joe, didn't love her. He loved her body, and her confidence in bed and her performance in bed, but he did not love her as a human being.

"Morelli, you promised I would get to have her first. I'm already getting hard at the thought. It's nice to see her not covered in garbage and dragging her FTA's around," Big Dog slurred, grabbing Stephanie's other arm with one hand and ripping her shirt with the other. Someone screamed as her Rangeman shirt got ripped from being pulled away from her body. Hearing that it was a feminine scream, Stephanie realized that it was her who let it out.

Feeling the hands of the two men upon her, rational thought flowed back into her brain. Stephanie pulled away from the men holding her arms, noting that she was simply in her white bra and matching pyjama shorts, her shirt hanging open and loose on her slim frame. With the force of her motion backwards, both men slipped off her arms and watched as Stephanie flipped backwards over the coffee table, landing on her back on the floor. Her cellphone fell beside her and her hand automatically reached for it, knowing the phone number she would type in.

Before she could even flip open the phone, a sickening crack resonated through the apartment. Stephanie looked over at her hand and saw Big Dog's boot covering it, holding it at an awkward angle to the floor. It was then that the pain registered and Stephanie bit her tongue not to cry out again. Tears fell down her cheeks as she fought against the pain that was burning up her arm.

"What's the matter Cupcake? Not used to this much attention from men?" Morelli sneered, pushing the coffee table, and cellphone, out of the way as Big Dog's boot kept Stephanie from moving too quickly. Morelli then bent down and continued to rip off the Rangeman shirt. "Still wearing Ranger's clothes to bed Cupcake? I thought we talked about that before," he growled, getting himself into a frenzy.

Stephanie simply whimpered on the ground instead of answering him. She averted her eyes when she felt her bra come off as well, not wanting to see the men panting on top of her. Her arms were suddenly pinned above her head, leaving her completely exposed from the waist up. Rough, calloused hands grabbed her chest none too gently. More tears poured from her face as her body slowly turned numb, minus her hand that felt like it was still on fire.

Stephanie gave up without a fight. She had let Ranger walk away without a fight. She had left her bounty hunting job without a fight. She had given up her dreams without a fight. All for a man who loved her for her performance in bed. She was disgusted with herself, with Joe, with Big Dog, and with her life.

The white shorts that Stephanie was wearing were being jerked off her by the two men who were impatient to take part in their new prize. Her eyes opened enough to see that the men had their jeans undone already and both had their boxers tented by their members. When she saw Big Dog yank his own pants down as Morelli pinned her hands to the ground, Stephanie began to struggle, realizing once again the immediate danger she was in. She opened her mouth to scream but felt part of her Rangeman shirt be stuffed into her mouth by Morelli. He once again sneered at her but then turned his attention to the second man who was about to make penetration.

"She likes it when you go in rough," Morelli said, watching Stephanie's eyes grow wide in panic. Big Dog effortlessly spread her legs with his knees and placed the tip of his head at her entrance.

"I also like it when I make them scream," Big Dog commented as he thrust in as deep as he could go. Pain flared inside Stephanie, deep in her mind and all over her body. Her insides felt like they were ripping apart and burning. A deep scream escaped around the gag and echoed around the apartment, only adding to the pleasure the men were having. Tears gushed down Stephanie's face and her nose filled with snot, making it near impossible to breath. Morelli stuffed more of the ripped shirt into Stephanie's mouth and pulled his own Johnson out to have himself ready when Big Dog finished.

Stephanie was lost inside her pain, her mind not letting her focus on anything but the pain. Her body flinched and twisted away unconsciously from the men. Big Dog's hands were on her hips, keeping them in place as he thrust into her for a second time. The pain Stephanie felt was worse than the first thrust and she saw little black dots come into her field of view. Her arms were going numb from being held above her head. She tried to pull them back down to her body to either shield herself or to fend off her attackers. But before she could make any progress in freeing herself from Morelli's grip, she felt a fist connect with the side of her head and the blackness consumed Stephanie.

_**So this is odd,  
the painful realization that has all gone wrong.  
And nobody cares at all,  
and nobody cares at all.**_

_**

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A/N: **The song at the end is The Brilliant Dance by Dashboard Confessional. Beautiful yet sad song. I'm sorry for the late update. I had a bit of a family emergency and was without Internet for the week. I am now caught back up in my university work and have finished this chapter. I hope it is up to expectations, and it does have the potential to turn into a Babe-fic. You know the drill, and thanks to everyone for all the wonderful reviews, they really do keep me going! You are all fabulous!_


	4. Chapter 4

When Stephanie regained consciousness, she didn't immediately remember what happened. Her eyes tried to focus on the dark ceiling, but she was finding it difficult to look at anything clearly. As she slowly pushed her way onto her elbows to look down at herself, she gasped. There was a small pool of blood on the hardwood floor between her splayed legs. It was sticky on her legs as well and made waves of nausea roll through her body. Stephanie continued to look herself over, noting the position of her clothing. Her shorts were around her left ankle, doing nothing to cover her body. Her white bra was on the ground beside her, having been ripped off her body. The Rangeman gag was still in her mouth with the remains of the rest of her shirt underneath her on the floor.

Stephanie spat the gag out as she took inventory of her body further. There were two hand shaped bruises, one on each arm, but other than the obvious, she appeared to be unharmed. Slowly, painfully, she made her way to her feet, kicking off her shorts and moving away from the blood and ripped clothing. It was only then that she noticed the quietness of her apartment. Morelli and Big Dog were gone.

A small sigh of relief came through her chapped lips at the thought of being alone. She slowly made her way down to her bathroom, holding onto her couch and then the wall so she stayed standing. Her mind wasn't allowing her to focus on one thing alone as the trauma she experienced was too fresh. She knew she should call the police, but then Morelli might come back. Or even Big Dog with his partner Carl Costanza. Even with Carl as a good friend, Stephanie didn't want to risk having Morelli come back. She just wanted time by herself to try and understand what she's to do now.

Once Steph reached the bathroom, she turned on the shower with the heat turned on high. She stepped into the scalding water and sat in the tub, hands holding her knees to her chest. As the water rained down upon her head, slowly clearing her mind, the attack came rushing back to her. The words that Joe mentions about their love, the way he let Big Dog have his way with her. This was not the Joseph Morelli she fell in love with. The Morelli curse, she believed he hadn't inherited, finally reared its ugly head and she knew that she couldn't be with him anymore.

Stephanie Plum's life as she knew it was going to change drastically. If the Burg caught wind of this attack, she didn't know if her mother would disown her from tarnishing the Plum name or if they would sympathize with her and throw Morelli out of the family's life. Either way, Steph rationed in her mind that this would forever stay with her and she would not let another man get close enough to take advantage of her again.

As the shower slowly turned cold, Stephanie came back to the present. She turned the shower off and opened the curtain to grab her towel. As she gingerly towelled herself off, she looked at herself in the mirror and froze. Her right eye was lightly tinged black as her cheek was turning purple from the force of the blow to her face. Tears welled in her eyes as she took in her complete appearance. Her face was bruised, her arms were slowly turning purple as well. Her core felt destroyed as her legs and midsection were aching from the onslaught of the two men. Stephanie went from numb to immense pain and let the tears fall as wracking sobs tore themselves from her.

With the towel wrapped tightly around her body, she moved as quick as she dared to her bed and fell upon it. She curled up in a tight ball of pain and suffering and let the world drift away from her. Steph's clock said it was just past four in the morning when she dimly heard her cell ring before sleep claimed her broken self.

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A/N: Sorry for the long delay. It is now reading week and this is my first day with Internet. I had this written before but it is the first chance to upload it. Sorry for it being short, but it was fitting. More to come soon! Thanks to everyone for the lovely reviews, you are all fabulous! Hope it's up to your expectations.


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